The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763

THE FORTS .OF NEW FRANCE in

ortheast America 1600-1763

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR RENE CHARTRAND was born in Montreal and educated in Canada, the United States and the Bahamas. A senior curator with Canada's National Historic Sites for nearly three decades, he is now a freelance writer and historical consultant. He has written numerous articles and books including over 30 Osprey titles. He lives in Gatineau, Quebec, with his wife and two sons.

BRIAN DELF began his career working in a London art studio producing artwork for advertising and commercial publications. Since 1972, he has worked as a freelance illustrator on a variety of subjects including natural history, architecture and technical cutaways. His illustrations have been published in over thirty countries. Brian lives and works in Oxfordshire.

FORTRESS • 75

THE FORTS OF NEW FRANCE in Northeast America 1600-1763

RENE CHARTRAND

ILLUSTRATED BY BRIAN DELF Series editors Marcus Cowper and Nikolai Bogdanovic

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 OPH, UK 443 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, USA Email: [email protected] © 2008 Osprey Publishing Ltd.

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers. A C1P catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13 978 1 846032554 Editorial by lIios Publishing, Oxford, UK (www.iliospublishing.com) Page layout by Ken Vail Graphic Design, Cambridge, UK (kvgd.com) Cartography: Map Studio, Romsey, UK Typeset in Sabon and Myriad Pro Index by Alison Worthington Originated by PPS Grasmere Ltd, Leeds, UK Printed and bound in China through Bookbuilders 08 09 10 11 12

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FOR A CATALOG OF ALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OSPREY MILITARY AND AVIATION PLEASE CONTACT: NORTH AMERICA Osprey Direct, c/o Random House Distribution Center, 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, MD 21157 Email: [email protected] ALL OTHER REGIONS Osprey Direct UK, PO Box 140, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2FA, UK Email: [email protected]

AUTHOR'S NOTE This work, the first of a two-part series, is the companion of French Fortresses in North America 7535-7763 (Fortress 27) that dealt with the fortified cities of Quebec, Montreal, Louisbourg, and New Orleans. We continue our studies by presenting the numerous military forts that the French built in North America. As will be seen, individual forts spread across the continent rarely existed by themselves but instead formed part of a defense scheme in which trade and colonization were determining factors. Therefore, except for 16th-century structures, we present the forts by area. This first part will concentrate on forts on the Atlantic Coast and on the St Lawrence, Richelieu, Ohio, and Ottawa river valleys. The second part will deal with forts of the Great Lakes, the Mississippi Valley, and the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, it is hoped that, when completed, these three Osprey Fortress books will form the most important illustrated account yet published of New France's truly extraordinary fortifications. The author wishes to acknowledge the very kind assistance of Christopher D. Fox of Fort Ticonderoga, the staff (amongst whom are many former colleagues) at forts administered by the National Historic Sites of Parks Canada, the staff at the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, Crown Point State Historic Site, and at the Fort Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh. Unless accompanied by a negative number or otherwise indicated, all photos are by the author.

MEASUREMENTS Unless otherwise indicated, we have given French feet and inches as they appeared in the 17th- and 18th-century documentation. It is most important to note that the French foot, used in New France, was not the same as the English foot (still officially used in the United States). The French 12 inches is longer and comes to 12.789 inches, English measure. The official French measures from 1668-1840 were: 2 miles for 1 Lieue = 3.898 km 1000 Toises for 1 mile = 1.949 km (English mile = 1.61 km) 6 feet for 1 Toise = 1.949 m (English Fathom = 1.83 m) 12 inches for 1 foot = 32,484 cm (English foot = 30.48 cm) 12 lines for 1 inch = 2.707 cm (English inch = 2.54 cm)

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ARTIST'S NOTE Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the color plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers. All enquiries should be addressed to: Brian Delf, 7 Burcot Park, Burcot, Abingdon OX14 3DH, UK The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.

THE FORTRESS STUDY GROUP (FSG) The object of the FSG is to advance the education of the public in the study of all aspects of fortifications and their armaments, especially works constructed to mount or resist artillery. The FSG holds an annual conference in September over a long weekend with visits and evening lectures, an annual tour abroad lasting about eight days, and an annual Members'Day. The FSG journal, FORT, is published annually, and its newsletter, Casemate, is published three times a year. Membership is international. For further details, please contact: The Secretary, c/o 6 Lanark Place, London W9 1BS, UK Web site: www.fsgfort.com

THE WOODLAND TRUST Osprey Publishing are supporting the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity, by funding the dedication of trees.

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

4

CHRONOLOGY

5

A TOUR OF THE FORTS

8

, 6th-century forts. Forts on the Atlantic. Acadian Borderlands Plaisance (Placentia) • St Lawrence River Valley The Richelieu River and Lake Champlain Valley The western St Lawrence River • The Ohio Valley The Ottawa River Valley and Hudson's Bay The end of the Seven Years War in the Northeast

THE FORT GARRISONS

56

THE FORTS TODAY

60

GLOSSARY OF FORTIFICATION TERMS

60

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

63

INDEX

64

THEFORTSOFNEWFRANCE IN NORTHEAST AMERICA 1600-1763 INTRODUCTION

Detail of a map of New France showing French troops bearing pikes and a unit color (left) with the Seigneur de Roberval in armor during his 1542-1543 expedition. To the left of Roberval is a small rendering of the fort of France-Roy, symbolically shown as a stone castle having two turrets with a wall and a gate. The natives are also generically shown naked with furs. It must be stressed that illustrations of the 16th and part of the 17th centuries were meant to be an evocation rather than a precise rendering of persons and places. This 1546 map by Pierre Decellier has north at the bottom and south at the top. Library and Archives Canada, NMC 40461.

4

During the 16th century, the various French attempts to establish settlements in North and South America all failed. It was during the 17th century that France at last managed to establish a domain in what is now eastern Canada. The first half of the 17th century saw a number of relatively small forts, or fortified settlements, established on the Atlantic Coast and on the shores of the St Lawrence River. This was a period of extraordinary explorations that saw adventurous men such as Samuel de Champlain or Etienne Brule reveal the existence of the Great Lakes and of great rivers in the interior of the North American continent. The rivers would prove to be the key to the ever-expanding domain claimed by France. During the second half of the 17th century, French explorers reached the edge of the western prairies, Hudson's Bay, and in 1682, Robert Cavalier de La Salle reached the Gulf of Mexico by going down the Mississippi River. Explorations farther west by Pierre Gaulthier de La Verendrye and his sons continued during the 1730s, revealing an enormous domain whose limit was finally reached in January 1743 when, in the present-day US state of Wyoming, the mighty Rocky Mountains stopped further westward advances. The essential geographical boundaries of New France in North America were thus reached. To secure all these areas, the French built a large number of forts along the shores of the lakes and waterways of their trade network routes. The forts were basically laid out in a square plan with bastions of various sizes. However, the similarities with small forts in Europe were likely to end there.

The type of fort put up in New France could have substantial variations depending on its purpose. Coastal forts such as those at Port Royal or Placentia were mostly concerned with attacks from ships and would have cannon batteries and earthen works. As one moved into the continent's interior, the forts would be made of timber planted in the ground to make palisades; this was because it was taken for granted that moving a heavy artillery train in the wilderness was next to impossible and that Indian enemies did not use ordnance. However, as time passed, the need to have substantial and impressive-looking stone fortifications along the most likely interior invasion route into Canada, the Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River corridor, became increasingly important. Thus, when Fort Chambly was rebuilt in the early 18th century, it assumed the appearance of a somewhat medieval stone fort with high walls and massive corner turrets. This followed a recommendation by Marshal Vauban himself, and a similarly imposing type of stone fort was repeated when Fort Saint-Frederic (Crown Point, NY) was built with its large tower. This style rapidly evolved into the more standard design of fort built on a square plan with sizable bastions mounted with ordnance at each corner by the middle of the 18th century. This was the type of fort built by the French as they advanced into the Ohio Valley and toward Lake Champlain. Its most "finished" example was Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga, NY) built below Lake Champlain from 1755, which was to be reveted with stone. During the 1750s, several fort designs were tried out. The "star" design was used when Fort Beausejour was built. Later, as invading Anglo-American armies in overwhelming numbers were closing in, structures that were designed primarily to be powerful batteries, such as forts Isle-aux-Noix, Levis, or Jacques-Cartier, were built. Thus, it can be seen that engineers serving in New France tried nearly all types of fortifications in the northeastern part of North America.

Captain Jacques Cartier taking possession of Canada for France by erecting a cross bearing a shield with the royal arms at Gaspe in 1534. He named the area New France. This type of ceremony was repeated in various places in the following years and decades. Plate after Rene Sombled. Private collection.

CHRONOLOGY 1534

Explorer Jacques Cartier takes possession of Canada for France at Gaspe. The area is named New France.

1535

Cartier and his men build a small fort in the area of Quebec.

1541-1543

Cartier and the Seigneur de Roberval build forts at Cap-Rouge near Quebec, but the colony is abandoned in 1543.

1555-1560

French settlement in Brazil; destroyed by Portuguese.

1562-1565

French settlements in Florida; destroyed by Spanish.

1598-1603

Sable Island (Nova Scotia) settlement fails.

1600-1601

Fortified post at Tadoussac.

1604-1605

Fortified post at Isle Sainte-Croix, Acadia.

1605

Port Royal, Acadia, habitation built, destroyed in 1613.

1608

Samuel de Champlain, explorer and first governor of New France, founds Quebec. 5

~ Sables Island

ATLANTIC OCEAN N

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250km

A map of the French forts and settlements in northeastern America that had military garrisons. Some forts had several names, and were reconstructed over the years.

1630s

Permanent settlements in Acadia; several forts built.

1632

Trois-Rivieres founded.

1642

Fort Richelieu built at mouth of Richelieu River; Montreal, originally named Ville-Marie, is founded.

1662

Placentia, Newfoundland, settled permanently by the French.

1665-1666

Forts Sorel, Chambly, Saint-Jean, Sainte-Therese built on Richelieu River.

1670s-1690s Many seigneurial forts built, especially east of Montreal. 1686

6

First of many successful Canadian and French expeditions to capture and hold British forts in Hudson's Bay. Forts built on the Ottawa River.

1699

First permanent French settlements in Louisiana.

1701

Great Peace of Montreal between French and Indians.

1710

Port Royal, Acadia, falls to Anglo-Americans.

1713

Treaty of Utrecht cedes Acadia (Nova Scotia), Placentia, and Hudson's Bay forts to Great Britain.

1720

Foundation stone is laid at Louisbourg, and extensive fortifications are built there. French settle Ile-Saint-Jean (now Prince Edward Island).

1731

Fort at Pointe a la Chevelure (Crown Point, NY) built, renamed Saint-Frederic in 1738.

1745

Louisbourg falls to a New England army.

1748

Fort Saint-Jean and Fort La Presentation built.

1749

Louisbourg returned to the French.

1751

Forts Beausejour and Gaspareau built.

1753

Forts Presqu'lle, Le Boeuf, and Machault built.

1754

Fort Duquesne built.

1755

Fort Beausejour and Gaspareau taken by Anglo-Americans.

The French naval ensign used until 1661 This flag consisted of a white cross on a blue background, although in the 16th century, this flag had some variations such as blue and red quarters. It could also be hoisted on coastal forts such as the early settlements built by the French in the early 17th century. It was gradually replaced by the white ensign used on French warships. In 1661, King Louis XIV officially replaced it with the white ensign for ships of war, keeping this blue ensign as the merchant marine flag with the addition of the royal coat of arms at its center. Private collection.

july: General Braddock defeated at Monongahela near Fort Duquesne. September: Fort Carillon built at Ticonderoga. 1756

Montcalm takes Oswego.

1757

Montcalm takes Fort William-Henry.

1758

july 8: British defeated at Ticonderoga by Montcalm. july: Louisbourg falls to British Army and fleet. November: Fort Duquesne evacuated and blown up by French.

1759

Forts Carillon and Saint-Frederic evacuated and blown up by French. September 13: French Army defeated on the Plains of Abraham, Montcalm and Wolfe killed; Quebec City surrenders September 18. Forts Isle-aux-Noix, Levis, and Jacques-Cartier built.

1760

April-May: French siege to retake Quebec fails. August: Isle-aux-Noix and Fort Levis fall to British. Last French army in Canada surrenders at Montreal on September 8. Fort Jacques-Cartier surrenders on September 10.

1763

Treaty of Paris: France cedes Canada, Isle Royale, and Louisiana on east side of Mississippi River to Britain, rest of Louisiana to Spain. 7

A TOUR OF THE FORTS 16th-century forts The earliest French forts in America were built in 1535 at the foot of Cape Diamond and in 1541 at Cap-Rouge, about 14 km (8.7 mi) west of the present city of Quebec. That year, a major expedition to Canada was being prepared in France. Following the explorations by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and 1535, King Fran~ois I appointed one of his courtiers, Jean-Fran~ois de La Roque, Seigneur de Roberval, as governor and lieutenant general of a colony to be established on the shores of the St Lawrence River. Jacques Cartier was captain general and master pilot of the fleet with authority to command in the absence of Roberval. There were various delays, so that in May 1541, Cartier left Saint-Malo for Canada with a fleet of five ships carrying gentlemen, settlers, soldiers, convicts, and supplies for two years. After a stormy crossing, they reached the area of present-day Quebec City in late August. Cartier felt that the best spot for the settlement was at the foot of the Cap-Rouge River. He landed his artillery from three of his ships (the place was named Charlebourg-Royal after the king's third son), and two forts were built, one at the foot of the cliff and one on top of it. The settlement failed owing to the hostility of the Indians, and the settlement was abandoned, with Cartier and the settlers going back to France in late spring 1542. Meanwhile, Roberval had sailed from France with 200 men and arrived at Cap-Rouge at the end of July. The two destroyed forts were rebuilt and the place renamed France-Roy. These settlers had no better luck with the natives, and scurvy decimated the French during the winter. In spring 1543, Roberval and the survivors abandoned the place and went back to France. As noted in French Fortresses in North America 1535-1763 (Osprey Fortress 27), the descriptions of these forts were very vague. Only Roberval's forts are recorded. The smaller one on the cliff, with a large tower and a main building, was said to be very strong. The one at the foot of the cliff had a tower two stories high and two main buildings. In about 1860, some foundations were found at Cap-Rouge that might have belonged to the long-vanished lower fort, but nothing could confirm this theory. Then, on August 19, 2006, the prime minister of Quebec announced a stunning discovery: the remains of this 16th-century settlement had been found at Cap-Rouge. During a routine archeological survey undertaken before construction began, archeologist Yves Chretien came upon some very unusual objects including fragments of very early Italian and Indian pottery.

Construction of Fort Caroline, Florida, during 1564, on the banks of the present St John's River, near Jacksonville. Work started on June 30. "Having measured a triangular space" some settlers cut wood for fascines while others moved the sandy soil "to give a shape to the rampart" that was 9 ft high, wrote Commandant Rene de Laudonniere. This print, after Jacques Le Moyne, is one of very few that shows the construction of a fort. Private collection.

8

Fort Caroline, Florida, as completed in 1564. Each end of its triangular plan had a bastion mounted with artillery, the westward sides facing the mainland having a moat outside, and the east side facing the river having a palisade "in the manner that gabions are made." The fortification "was made of fascines and sand except up to two or three feet at top of grass [sods], of which the parapets were made." The ammunition magazine was in the south bastion (lower left) with the French flag. The house at the center was the commandant's. The fort was taken by the Spanish on September 20, 1565, and its "French Lutheran" garrison put to the sword. Print after Jacques Le Moyne, a colonist who escaped the massacre. Private collection.

After careful analysis of the objects including extensive carbon 14 tests, the only conclusion possible was that it was the site of the 1541-1543 forts. This was a very important discovery indeed as it is the second-oldest European site, after the Viking site of L'Anse aux Meadows (c. AD 1000) in Newfoundland, to be discovered in North America. Millions of dollars are being invested in further archeological Champlain's Explorations work at the site so that, in several years, we may The French expansion from the small 1608 post at Quebec to have a better idea of what these forts were like. an empire that spanned North America's interior from the Gulf France's next endeavors in America came from of St Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico was due to the initial its numerous Protestant communities. Admiral explorations of Samuel de Champlain, first governor of New France. Champlain first went south beyond Lake Champlain Gaspard de Coligny, the leader of the Protestants in 1609, then, in 1613, found the way to Lake Huron by the as well as one of the most powerful people in the Ottawa River that would open up the main fur trade route; realm, had visions of an overseas France, and in two years later, he ventured south of Lake Ontario. On two occasions he fought the Iroquois, who would become 1555, mooted the settlement of a Protestant New France's enemies in the 17th century. These and later colony in Brazil, a country that belonged to explorations resulted in many French forts being erected Portugal. A fleet sailed in July under the command in North America's hinterland. Map after C. W. Jefferys. of the vice admiral of Brittany, Nicolas Druand de Villegagnon, and landed at what is now Rio de Janeiro, in November. The French Protestants settled on an island in the bay and there built Fort Coligny as well as a battery on a smaller island. The Portuguese were none too pleased at these new settlers, and on March 15, 1560, took the place and razed the fort after a three-week siege. But the Protestants did not give up on the idea of settlement. In May 1562, a group under Jean Ribault composed of about 150 gentlemen and "old soldiers" arrived at the present Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, and built Charlesfort in the area Champlains of Parris Island or Beaufort Island. It was built on a 9

The 11 survivors of the 1598 settlement on Sable Island rescued by Captain Chefdhostel in 1603. Following an earlier mutiny in which Commandant Querbonyer and several other men were killed, the survivors were reduced to utmost misery. When found, they were haggard, had long hair and beards, and wore animal hides as shown in the plate after Rene Bombled. Intrigued by this event, King Henri IV asked to see these former convicts (and possibly soldiers). Judging that fate had punished them amply, they were sent home with part of the profit from the pelts and whale oil found on the island. Private collection.

slightly rectangular plan, its dimensions being 16 by 13 phantoms (96 x 78 ft; 29.2 x 23.7 m). It was described as "a blockhouse of log and clay, thatched with straw, with a ditch around it, with four bastions, and two bronze falconets and six iron culverins therein." Ribault went back to France, leaving 30 men there who were all but abandoned because of the misfortunes besetting Ribault. The Spanish realized they were there, and on June 12, 1564, attacked and razed Charlesfort. Meanwhile, a fleet of three ships under Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere was sent out by Admiral Coligny in 1564, and in July, built Fort Caroline, named in honor of King Charles IX, at the mouth of the St John's River in northern Florida. It was an earth and log fort built on a triangular plan with small bastions at each corner. Initial good relations with the Indians turned sour, and by 1565, the French were at war with the indigenous groups in the area. The Spanish had also learned of the new French Protestant fort and were determined to wipe it out. One of their best fleet commanders, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, was sent from Spain with ten ships bearing 820 soldiers for the task. After a stop farther south, where he founded St Augustine, he marched to Fort Caroline and took it by 10

storm on September 20, killing all the "French Early Construction Techniques Lutheran" men. The fort itself was renamed San The earliest palisades for defense and their auxiliary buildings Mateo and was occupied by the Spanish. The were constructed by the en pile method of setting logs into the French vowed revenge for the massacres, and on ground. More substantial buildings were made with logs laid April 26, 1568, Dominique de Gourgues and a horizontally and notched at the corners. The earliest type of strong body of French Protestant corsairs took semi-permanent lodging consisted of a frame built of long, Fort San Mateo, razed the place, and hung all the squared timbers with walls made of shorter logs that might be Spanish male prisoners. Thus ended the tragic covered by planks. Print after C. W. Jefferys. Private collection. episode of French colonization in Florida. For the next few decades, French traders, corsairs, and fishermen often cruised off the North American coast, but no further attempts at settlement were made until 1598. That year, the Marquis de La Roche landed about 40 colonists, recruited in French prisons and escorted by about ten soldiers, on Sable Island, off the coast of the present Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Lodgings and a storehouse were built, and there were some probably some defensive structures, most likely moats and earthen works, as Sable Island was (and remains) sandy and devoid of trees. By 1603, only 11 survivors remained to be rescued, the rest having perished in a mutiny that probably occurred the previous year. Meanwhile, as French merchant ships often went up the St Lawrence River to trade with the Indians, Pierre Chauvin de Tonnetuit landed men and supplies at Tadoussac in 1600 and proceeded to build a "habitation" (a strongly built house) there, which had some defensive features. The 16 men left there spent a disastrous winter beset by sickness and starvation. Some died, and the rest went back to France in spring 1601, abandoning the habitation. Thus, all the French settlement attempts during the 16th century had ended in failure.

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The bay of Tadoussac with the habitation built by Pierre Chauvin de Tonnetuit in 1600. At left, the Saguenay River flows south into the St Lawrence. According to Champlain, the habitation at Tadoussac was small, measuring 7.8 x 5.8 m (8.5x6.3 yd) and 2.6 m (2.8 yd) high. Its defensive features seem to have been minimal as it was surrounded only by a picket fence and a "small [or shallow] ditch dug in the sand." The little houses marked "D" were the Indians' huts. Map from Champlain/s Voyages.

11

The 1604 settlement on Sainte-Croix Island. It was built on an island in the middle of the Sainte-Croix River, which is now the border between the US state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The house at top left (0) was the "lodging of the Swiss", soldier-artisans that were part of the expedition. The storehouse (C) was surrounded by a palisade. Champlain mentioned that the first structure put up on the island was a "barricade" that "served as a platform to place our cannon," which is not shown as it was to the south (bottom) of the settlement. The squared timber buildings on Sainte-Croix Island were dismantled in 1605 and transported to Port Royal to build the habitation there. Plate from Champlain's Voyages.

Forts on the Atlantic At the beginning of the 17th century, French merchants were confident that a lucrative trade could be entered into with the native inhabitants of the northeastern part of America. Since Jacques Cartier's explorations in the 1530s, France had a solid claim to this part of America, and it was felt in the court of King Henri IV that some establishments would soon have to be made before competing nations set up their own colonies in that part of the continent. Royal charters were thus granted to groups of merchants willing to risk capital in such ventures. In the case of Nova Scotia/Acadia, both the kings of France and England granted charters.

The Port Royal habitation built in 1605. It had a rectangular plan, its timber buildings acting as defensive walls, and it also featured a platform "with four guns" according to Champlain, although he shows only three (B), a palisade redoubt (F), and a ditch (M). The artisans were lodged on the left side (A), and the storehouse was on the right side (C). The rest of the quarters were for the officers (0, N, and 0), and also shown are a forge (E), an oven, and a kitchen (G and H). It also had "a very good basement 4-5 ft high." This habitation was destroyed by English corsairs from Virginia in November 1613. Plate from Champlain's Voyages.

12

In 1603, Pierre Dugua de Mons received from King Henri IV of France a fur trade monopoly for a large area in northeastern North America. His expedition arrived in 1604 and selected Sainte-Croix Island for settlement. That winter, many colonists perished from scurvy, and the following summer, Samuel de Champlain, the expedition's explorer and mapmaker, selected a new site. The colony moved to Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia), across the Bay of Fundy, and built a habitation there. In November 1613, the place was attacked and destroyed by an English expedition from Virginia led by Samuel Argall, who had been commissioned to expel all Frenchmen from territory claimed by King James I of England. In reality, the area remained devoid of European trade posts or settlements until Charles Saint-Etienne de la Tour built Fort Saint-Louis (Port La Tour, Nova Scotia), also known as Fort Lomeron, in 1623. The fort was attacked by the British in 1629 and 1630, and it was abandoned in 1635. Nicolas Denys built the trade fort Sainte-Anne (Englishtown, Nova Scotia) that operated from 1629 to 1641. In 1632, Fort Ste Marie de Grace (La Havre, Nova Scotia) was built by Isaac de Razilly, who was appointed "governor of New France" by King Louis XIII; it served as the first capital of New France until abandoned in 1636. Meanwhile, Scottish settlers arrived in 1629 on the abandoned site of Port Royal and built "Charles Fort" there, but it was attacked and taken by the French in 1632. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle granted Canada and Acadia to France, and French colonists replaced the Scots at Port Royal, which became the capital from 1636. The first French fort at Port Royal was built

Acadia in 1609 as depicted by Marc Lescarbot, a member of the Port Royal colony. This detail from his map shows what is now the present US state of Maine (on the left). Near the center is Sainte-Croix Island, site of the first settlement in 1604, and now the border between Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The 1605 Port Royal settlement is at the center on the fJSouriquois" peninsula, now mainland Nova Scotia, and "Bacaillos" is Cape Breton Island. Just below is "I de sable" - the site of the doomed Sable Island colony in 1598.

The Port Royal area. The first habitation (1605-1613) was built on the shore of what is now known as the Annapolis Basin facing Goat Island (top). The short-lived Scottish settlement's fort (1630) was put up near the same site. The second Port Royal was built farther in the basin on the opposite shore (right). It was renamed Annapolis Royal by the British in 1710. The access to the sea is through the Digby Gut (upper left). Detail from map by C. W. Jefferys.

13

The fort at Port Roya I, Acad ia, c. 1706- 1710

THE FORT AT PORT ROYAL, ACADIA, C. 1706-1710

The 1702-1703 plan to build a substantial fort at Port Royal featured a large semicircular battery near the water. This feature was not approved by Seigneur de Subercase, commanding officer at Port Royal, who had a large triangular ravelin built instead, with guns installed to face the water. The fort was built on a slight height at Port Royal's entrance on a square plan with four bastions.

It had a residence for the governor of Acadia as well as quarters for the officers and men of the garrison. This fort was sufficiently strong to repulse Anglo-American attacks in 1704 and 1707, but it finally surrendered in October 1710 to overwhelming British and colonial American forces.

at that time and probably incorporated part of the previous Scottish fort. Over the years, two other rather makeshift forts were constructed on the site, but they gradually fell into disrepair. De Meule's plan of Port Royal shows that by 1686 there was no fort to defend the place, and it was easily captured and occupied briefly by Sir William Phips in early 1690. In 1702, construction started on a substantial Vauban-style earthwork fort built on a square plan with bastions, ditches, and glacis with a large ravelin to cover the gate. It repulsed Anglo-American attacks in 1704 and 1707, but it finally surrendered in October 1710 to overwhelming British and colonial American forces. The British occupied the fort and town, which they renamed Fort Anne and Annapolis Royal respectively, in honor of Queen Anne of Great Britain. Acadia was ceded to Britain in 1713 and became Nova Scotia. Not all of AcadialNova Scotia went to Britain. France kept Cape Breton Island, renamed Isle Royale, Isle Saint-Jean (now the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island), and what is now eastern New Brunswick. Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island was built and quickly became one of the most important harbors on the eastern seaboard. However, it

Plan of the fort at Port Royal in 1703. This plan showed what had been built since 1702 or was being constructed and made proposals for other structures as shown in various outlines. The most important proposal was an outside circular battery on the left of the fort facing the shore. An outside battery was indeed built but it did not have this shape. The main parts of the fort were: A: du Roy bastion; B: Dauphin bastion; C: Bourgogne bastion; D: Berry bastion; E: parade; F: governor's residence; G: king's lieutenant's quarters; H: major's quarters; I: chapel and chaplain's quarters; K and L: officers' quarters; M: surgeon's quarters; N: gunners' quarters. The town and its docks are shown at bottom left. Archives Nationales, Depot des Fortifications des Colonies.

The fort's powder magazine built from 1702 at Port Royal, Acadia. Print after C. W. Jefferys.

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Madame de La Tour defending her fort in 1645. The appearance of Fort La Tour (now St John, New Brunswick) is largely unknown, but it would have been an earth and wood structure mounted with a few cannons, probably similar to this print after C. W. Jefferys illustrating the doomed defense put up by this remarkable, if unfortunate, lady. OPPOSITE PAGE, BonOM

Fort Saint-Joseph, also known as Fort Nashwaak, 1695. Built during March and April 1692 and abandoned in 1698, this stockade fort built on a square plan of about 100 ft plus its bastions was located on the southwestern tip of the meeting of St John and Nashwaak rivers. The buildings within were the commandant's quarters, the soldiers' barracks (left) and the guard house (right). The bastion on the left had a baking oven. Library and Archives Canada. RIGHT

Plan of Fort Pentagoet, c. 1670. This was the fort established by the Baron of Saint-Castin who was granted the area that is now Castine, Maine. A: the fort's plaza; B: the warehouse, 30 steps long x 15 steps wide; C: the guardhouse, 15 steps long x 10 wide; D: the chapel, 15 steps long x 10 wide with a bell tower over the door; F: officers' lodging, 15 steps long x 10 wide; G: soldiers' and artisans' lodging, 15 steps long x 10 wide; H: fort's gate; I: entrance of a small work in front of the gate; K: outer gate; L: two platforms each with two 8-pdrs; M: a platform with two 8-pdr and one 3-pdr; N: small parapets at angles; 0: two guerites at the bastion's angles; P: elevation degree to go up the rampart; Q: palisades around the work; R: baking oven and shed in front of the gate; 5: a deep canal; T: inlet for small vessels; V: sea breaks; X: dam to protect land and the fort; Y: height overlooking the fort; fountain "which is what is best and most useful." Photo: Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

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was taken in 1745 and again in 1758 and later razed. Elsewhere on Cape Breton Island, a settlement was made from 1713 at Port Toulouse (now St Peters, 120 km [74.6 mi] from Louisbourg) where there had been the small fortified fur post named Saint-Pierre between the 1630s and 1669. To protect the new settlement and transportation across the isthmus, the French built a small fort there armed with six 6-pdrs in 1715-1716. A small garrison was maintained. A larger earthwork fort surrounded by a ditch was built between 1734 and 1738 near the shore. It had two bastions facing land with a curved barbette battery facing the harbor. Both the fort and the settlement were destroyed by Anglo-American troops in 1745 after the surrender of Louisbourg. It was reoccupied between 1749 and 1758, but no substantial fortifications were rebuilt there. Another settlement with a small detachment of troops was at Port Dauphin on the north end of the island, which was briefly the capital of Isle Royale from 1713 to 1719 when officials moved to Louisbourg. There were plans to build a fort there, as shown on Bellin's 1744 map, but nothing important was actually built.

Acadian Borderlands Acadia extended beyond present-day Nova Scotia. From the second quarter of the 17th century, settlements, missions, and outposts were made in the present-day US state of Maine and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The earliest post was Fort Pentagoet (Castine, Maine) also known as Fort Penobscot, which was first established as a Dutch trading station in 1613 and later abandoned. Champlain had explored the Penobscot Bay area earlier, but in 1614, Captain John Smith charted it for England. It thus became, like much of Acadia, an area of conflicting territorial claims. In 1629, Pilgrim colonists from Massachusetts established a fortified trading post there flying the flag of England. The French felt usurped, and in 1634 they seized the place. Their early fort was more of a trading post than with a number of Indian settlements nearby than a military installation. In 1654, it was captured by Anglo-Americans from Massachusetts who occupied it until 1670 when the place was returned to France following the Treaty of Breda. A stronger-bastioned fort was built by Jean Vincent d'Abbadie, Baron de Saint-Castin, who was granted the land in the

vicinity of Pentagoet by the King of France, hence the later name of Castine. The fort was taken and sacked by Dutch corsairs in 1674. Two years later, they Dutch were back and bombarded the fort until it was destroyed. Saint-Castin and his son had forged strong alliances with the Micmac Indians, living among them as chiefs, and thereafter occasionally used some of the abandoned structures as a supply PI. A-. ~ [.[ ,'r1:j.~ IJU ~~}RT base for raiding parties on northern New England. "'!' 0 S F.PH In 1688, Anglo-Americans razed what remained fiJr la Riyire('~lean and permanently occupied the area. .A' /Dlb: Fort La Tour (St John, New Brunswick) was built as a fortified trading post during 1635. It likely was reinforced in the years to corne as the Seigneur de La Tour and the Seigneur de Charnisay became embroiled in a violent dispute over conflicting territorial claims, each claiming to be the ruler of the area. In 1645, De Charnisay and a superior force attacked Fort La Tour. La Tour was absent, but his wife led a vigorous defense, although eventually she had to 17

Fort Beausejour, 1751-1755

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FORT BEAUSEJOUR, 1751-1755

Built of earth and wood, this fort was laid out on a pentagonal "star" plan with five bastions rather than the usual square with four bastions to take maximum advantage of the height on which it was built. The pentagon's ramparts were about 3 m (9.8 English feet) high. The face of the bastions was 17.5 m (57.4 English feet), the flanks 5.8 m (19 English feet), and the connecting curtain wall 21.2 m (69.5 English feet),

although these measurements were not absolute and could vary. The ditch was 5.5 m (18 English feet) wide x 2 m (6.6 English feet) deep and had a glacis farther out. The well, powder magazine, and all the planned buildings except the barracks were built by the end of 1751, with the barracks being finished the following year. It was taken by an Anglo-American force in June 1755.

surrender. She was then forced to watch the execution of part of her garrison; she died a few weeks later. Fort Charnisay was built in the late 1640s. The Anglo-Americans occupied the area in 1654. Following the cession of these territories to France by treaty, the fort, which had been allowed to fall into disrepair, was rebuilt and renamed Fort Martignon in 1672. Over the years, this fort also fell into neglect. Fort Jemseg (or Jemseck) was built by the Anglo-Americans in 1659 at the confluence of the St John and Jemseg rivers. It was ceded to France, and a small garrison was sent there in 1670, but it was taken by the Dutch in 1674 and abandoned. In 1690, Governor de Villebon had it repaired but found it unsuitable and moved farther north two years later. In 1692, De Villebon had a fort built at the meeting of the St John and Nashwaak rivers (now Fredericton, New Brunswick). Work started on March 8, St Joseph's Day, so it was christened Fort Saint-Joseph, but it was also known as Fort Nashwaak or Fort Naxouat. This fort was occupied until 1698 when De Villebon left it to build another fort at the mouth of the St John River. Fort Saint-Jean, also known as Fort Villebon and Fort Menagoueche, was built from 1698 at the mouth of the St John River (St John, New Brunswick) in the area of the previous forts Charmisay/La Tour/Martignon. It was abandoned following the end of the War of Spanish Succession in 1713. Disputes over the boundaries of Nova PRofit J.... 4, ~"~f\O Scotia led Governor General de La Jonquiere to dispatch a party of troops under the command of Captain Charles Deschamps de Boishebert from Canada to the area in 1750 with instructions to build a stockade fort with quarters for officers and 100 men on the spot. The new Fort Menagoueche (also spelt Fort Menacoche) was built and garrisoned with 20 soldiers and 50 Canadian militiamen. It was built of pine logs put up on a nearly square plan of 65 x 68 m (71 x 74 yd) with four bastions. Within were barracks, a storehouse, a powder magazine, and a well was dug. The buildings had stone foundations and were made of cedar timber covered with pine planks. There was neither a chapel nor missionary. Fort Beausejour (Aulae, New Brunswick) was built during 1751 to secure the frontier with British Nova Scotia. French troops, Canadian militiamen, and allied Indians had been sent from Canada since 1749 to secure the relatively vague border C